Chicken Stew with Turnips and Mushroom

Other than pumpkin and apples, there are two additional foods about which I get extremely giddy when fall comes around; slow-cooked foods and hot soups. Both of these I also enjoy in the Spring, and Summer, or course, but when Fall starts to show up in Ohio I definitely get out the slow cooker and the soup bowls more often. I would be lying if I said my love for slow cooker recipes and soups had everything to do with how great they taste, because in fact it’s not just about taste, it’s about ease and simplicity. Most of my slow cooker recipes involve throwing in five to ten ingredients, and pressing start (and Nick has pointed this out plenty of times when I’ve said, “I made dinner, you do the dishes!) and as far as soups are concerned, they can be just as simple. Today’s soup involved a few extra steps, but all in all it was easy to prepare and left just a few dishes for Nick to clean. haha

Cut chicken into 1-inch pieces and sprinkle with ¼ tsp. each salt and pepper.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil to the pot. Add turnips, mushrooms, onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is limp, 3 to 5 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in kale, broth and rosemary. Return the chicken and any accumulated juices to the pot; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook, stirring once or twice, until turnips are tender, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir the mixture into the stew and cook until thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season the stew with the remaining ¼ tsp salt.

Serve warm.

Notes

** If you are following a low FODMAPs diet, this is probably not the best recipe. The polyols in the mushrooms are water-soluble and therefore will be dispersed throughout this soup. If you aren't overly sensitive to polyols (the "P" in FODMAPs) then you should be fine with the mushrooms. The garlic and onion should, however, be omitted, and replaced with a Tuscan or garlic-infused olive oil. Last, be sure to use a FODMAPs-free chicken broth such as Valu Time Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth or my homemade low FODMAPs broth (see recipe under my low FODMAPs tab)

NOTE: If you are watching your sodium intake, well, this is a soup, what can I say? You can actually reduce the sodium in this recipe by omitting the added salt and by using a low sodium chicken broth instead of a reduced sodium one (low-sodium means 140 mg or less, reduced sodium just means at least 25% less sodium than the original, which can still be very high!).

Nutrition Highlights: Under 300 calories, excellent source of protein, vitamin A and vitamin C. Good source of fiber, calcium and iron.

I love how leafy greens like kale and spinach shrink so much when cooked.

If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen this frozen pizza I made for Nick….

INSTAGRAM!

I added 4 large handfuls of fresh spinach on top before I put it in the oven. When it came out of the oven the spinach had shrunk so much that he barely even noticed, or cared that it was there. No joke. Tip: Do this.

Anyway, back to the soup. It was amazing. Truly fantastic. The “dry wine” I used wasn’t just any dry wine for cooking, I used an open bottle of Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc. I don’t know how much of a difference it really makes to use a good wine (as in one I would be ok to drink!), vs. a generic store brand of “cooking wine”, but I think I prefer the former. We always have half-finished bottles of white win in our house because neither of us really like white wine (I like red) and when people bring over white wine and open the bottle for a glass, they leave it with us to enjoy (in our food, that is. The secret is out).

The turnips could be replaced with potatoes, if you want, but the turnips are a lower carbohydrate root vegetable and I think they tasted great in this soup. Even Nick enjoyed them. This will be a go-to soup recipe for this fall and winter (it’s supposed to be a really bad winter, have you heard?!).

QUESTION:Do you use generic cooking wine in your recipes, or actual wine that you would drink from a glass?

I had to laugh at the “I cooked, you clean!” reference – so you do that, too? 😉

I think it’s crazy how much added salt there is in chicken broth. Have you ever heard of Kitchen Basic no salt added stock? It’s the only no salt added stock I’ve seen – I just wish it wasn’t so hard to find!Jessie recently posted…The Five Stages of Becoming a Dietitian

I know, it’s insane. Actually the store where I used to work has their own brand of sodium-free chicken broth that is VERY delicious. And, I’m posting a recipe for one on Friday, but I didn’t do a nutrient analysis (however, I didn’t add any sodium either, so it MUST be pretty low!)

Gina, The Candid RD

I'm a registered dietitian working hard to dispel nutrition myths, and to teach people how to live healthy lives without deprivation. My goal is to make nutrition simple, fun and delicious! I also follow a low FODMAPs diet for IBS. Feel free to contact me with questions.

Cooking With Paige

A story book that details a healthy trip through the grocery store, complete with a few recipes for your young ones!

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Disclaimer

This blog is meant to teach and inform you about nutrition and nutrition-related information. It serves as an outlet for my own personal opinions, but is not meant to be used as an absolute source of information. Before using this information to make any changes to your diet or lifestyle, I recommend that you talk to your doctor or local registered dietitian (contact me for options). Also, my low-FODMAPs recipes and recipe modifications are based on research done by the Monash University. Please contact me if you see something that you believe is inaccurate. I like to help, not confuse.